You may be asking why I felt it necessary to write a blog about the infamous monthly cycle…well, because there really isn’t a “one size fits all” monthly cycle for any of us! This post is for females of all ages, who seek a better understanding of the monthly cycle and how to navigate it.

I’m a girl-mom to a young adult and two teenagers, and let me tell you how confusing their cycles can be for them. I’m constantly answering questions about regularity, flow and symptoms. Yeah sure most of us learned about “aunt flow” in health class sometime between elementary and middle school, but then what? We don’t all experience perfect monthly cycles, especially as teenagers and also when there are other biological factors that cause us to have long periods, short periods or no periods at all.

So, let’s start with menstrual cycle 101: the purpose of our monthly cycle is to provide support to our bodies in the event that we become pregnant, so that the baby has adequate “housing” to thrive, survive and grow. In the event that our bodies do not need to support a pregnancy, it sheds the extra menstral fluid that would otherwise be necessary for a growing baby in-utero. Monthly menstruation can begin as early as 8 years old, but typically begins around age 12; it typically ends between ages 45-50, when the Menopause process begins and our “baby factory”, “oven”, or whatever you want to call it, closes shop for good!

The average monthly cycle ranges between 28-35 days. Some females experience longer or shorter cycles which can be an indication that there is a biological factor that may need to be addressed by a Gynecologist or other health professional. The average length of menstruation can last between 3-7 days; again, some females may experience much shorter or longer periods, or no periods at all, which is a definite sign to seek medical consultation.

The first day of menstruation is considered Day 1 of the cycle. Ovulation (the release of the egg; see the next paragraph below for detail) typically happens between days 14-17 of the cycle (give or take a day or two) and here we see a rise in the hormone Estrogen, as well as Lutenizing Hormone or LH. The rise in Estrogen signals a rise in LH, and when LH peaks (around day 14), it signals the ovaries to release the egg, the mature follicle ruptures and the egg breaks through to begin its journey! After ovulation, the hormone Progesterone rises to provide support for a healthy uterine lining so that a fertilized egg (also called an embryo in short) has a nice cushy home to implant into. If implantation doesn’t happen, progesterone levels decrease. This decline signals the uterus to shed its lining and voila! Hello aunt flow!

**To better understand ovluation: each month our ovaries produce follicles where “the golden egg” that’s needed for conception grows. Once the egg is matured, the follice releases it in hopes of becoming fertilized by a sperm. If the egg is fertilized, it travels down the fallopian tubes and implants into the uterus so that it can begin to grow into a baby! If the egg is not fertilized, the uterus sheds its lining, i.e. menstruation, and the cycle starts over.**

Many of us experience symptoms with each monthly cycle that can be a real drag in our daily lives! Common symptoms during the mentsrual cycle are cramping, fatigue, cravings or increased appetite, headache, bloating, acne breakouts and mood swings…just to name a few (insert eye roll here).

PMS, or pre-menstrual syndrome, which is the period of days/weeks leading up to menstruation, also brings a plethura of similar symptoms with it.

For me, learning to cope with the symptoms has been a lifelong adjustment, especially as I’ve grown older and my body chemistry has changed. I’ve found myself realizing that my body is ever-changing and that each month’s experience is different from the last and will certainly be different from the next.

Up until age 35, my monthly cycle was always exactly 28 days long. In order to understand how long our monthly cycles are, it’s important to count from the first day of menstruation to the first day of next menstruation, and this is the magic number! Once I hit 35, it seems like my cycle decided to just do whatever it wanted and became fairly irregular (ranging from 28-35 days on any given month). As I began to realize that I was pretty irregular, I talked to my Gynecologist who assured me that irregular cycles are normal as long as they range between the average of 28-35 days…yippee.

I didn’t realize until I was older how important it is to understand the flow of my monthly cycle (no pun intended hehe) and the hormonal fluctuations that come with it. As a female, at any age, it’s so critically important to know the ins and outs of our cycles and what is normal for our bodies specifically. For example, since I regularly had 28-day cycles, I knew something didn’t feel right when my cycle began to fluctuate and thus I knew I needed to ask questions. But I was relieved to know that the fluctuations were normal for my “advanced maternal age” (insert another eye roll here), which is considered ages 35 and above. The older we get, the more likely we are to see irregularities in our cycles and being empowered with the right information leads us to ask the right questions to set our minds at ease.

All in all, it’s SO important to be equipped with the basic information needed to better understand YOUR body and how it functions in regards to your monthly cycle. We are all biologically different, so what is normal for one, may not be normal for another. If you are experiencing irregular periods, drastic emotional ups/downs during pms, have no periods at all or your periods are VERY light (1-2 days with minimal bleeding), or VERY heavy (exceeding 7-days and filling multiple pads per day every day), then it’s time to talk to your doctor! Don’t ever assume that everything is fine if you suspect that it’s not and DON’T be afraid to advocate for yourself and ask your doctor LOTS of questions! That’s what they’re there for.

And of course, you will always find support and solice in The Unspoken Cycle’s community of fierce females! If you’re not yet a member, now is the time! There are zero membership fees and endless possibilities!

Let’s continue to troop through this journey together and FIND OUR FEMALE WITHIN!

References:

“Normal Menstruation”, article on http://www.clevelandclinic.org

Helpful Reads:

“Journey of Women: Puberty to Post-Menopause”, Gynecology and Women’s Health Research Volume 1, Issue 1, published February 06, 2018